Yuu Nan rubbed Kazuha's head: "But since Kazuha is so scared, I'll keep it safe."
"Mmm!" He Ye smiled sweetly, tiptoed, and kissed him on the cheek. "Then I'll go keep Miss Junhui company; she looks very sad..."
Watching the girl skip away, Yu Sheng Nan touched the spot where he had been kissed, shook his head and chuckled, then played with the Dugong Arrow in his hand with great interest.
The dugong's arrow was meant to be a symbol of immortality, but it ended up taking many lives; the legend that the shrine maiden protected with her youth instead consumed her youth.
It possesses a kind of "mono no aware" beauty, making it worth collecting.
.........
Inside the mourning hall, Kimie Shimabukuro knelt before the portrait of Toshimi Ebihara, her back to him looking thin and lonely.
"Miss Junhui..." He Ye tiptoed over, and He Xiaolan knelt down on either side of her. "Please accept our condolences..."
The two kind-hearted girls felt an inexplicable sense of kinship with the shrine maiden who had a tragic past but always remained optimistic.
Kimie Shimabukuro forced a smile: "Thank you."
"Miss Shoumei is Miss Junhui's good friend, isn't she?" Xiaolan asked softly. "Could you tell us about her?"
The shrine maiden's fingers unconsciously clenched the hem of her dress, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes: "Sumimi... she's a very persistent person. Ever since she saw that skeleton three years ago, she's believed the mermaid legend is true..."
"That skeleton...is it really a mermaid?"
Kazuha couldn't help but ask.
Kimie Shimabukuro remained silent for a moment, as if considering how to answer the question.
After a while, she slowly shook her head and said in a low voice, "They are just the remains of ordinary people, but the people on the island need this legend... including Sumi, Naoko, and... Saori."
Her voice trailed off, until it was almost inaudible: "They're all too obsessed with the dream of never growing old..."
Ran keenly noticed that when the name "Kadono Saori" was mentioned, Shimabukuro Kimie's body stiffened for a moment.
"Miss Junhui..." Xiaolan was about to ask further when she suddenly realized that Naoko Kuroe was no longer in the mourning hall. She looked around and said in confusion, "Huh? Where did Miss Naoko go?"
Shimabukuro Kimie stood up, her expression calm: "She probably went to the restroom. I should go prepare for tomorrow's ritual."
Watching the shrine maiden's departing figure, Kazuha muttered to herself, "I always feel like Miss Junhui is acting strange..."
Xiaolan nodded thoughtfully, "I think so too."
The two girls, one the daughter of a policeman and the other the daughter of a detective, were intuitively very perceptive, but neither of them gave it much thought.
They're not detectives; they're just here to keep their friends company.
.........
Yu Shengnan idly toyed with the Dugong Arrow in his hand, but his gaze remained fixed on his master.
Ikeba Shizuka was dressed in black mourning clothes, her long hair was tied up, revealing her snow-white nape, and a few strands of hair fell down, shimmering softly in the candlelight.
She stood quietly in the corner of the mourning hall, her demeanor aloof and sorrowful, like a true widow.
—Absolutely perfect.
"Master, let's go back~"
Yuzuru strolled over slowly.
He pressed himself against Ikeba Shizuka from behind, clinging to her like a giant koala, his fingers playfully tugging at his master's belt. His voice was soft and drawn out: "Keeping watch is so boring... I want to eat Master's midnight snack..."
Chibo Jinghua's ears burned from his brushing against her, and she smacked him on the forehead with her folding fan: "Nonsense, everyone's on night watch..."
"But Master looks so good in this outfit~" Yu Sheng Nan didn't hold back at all; instead, he leaned close to her ear, deliberately lowering his voice, his warm breath tickling her ear, "I want to see Master... just wearing this mourning clothes..."
Chi Bo Jinghua's breath hitched, and her neck instantly flushed a light red.
She understood her apprentice's unspoken meaning—if there was nothing beneath that solemn mourning dress...
"...No manners."
She tried to remain calm by covering her lips with a folding fan, but couldn't hide the allure that flickered in the corners of her eyes.
Her foolish apprentice has become increasingly adept at flirting with her lately, and yet... she still can't resist.
Yuzuru Nan took advantage of the situation, wrapping his arm around his master's waist and lightly stroking her waist with suggestive strokes: "Master~ I'll just go back for a little while... I promise I'll just have a midnight snack..."
As for what to eat for a late-night snack, that's uncertain.
After all, in his eyes, his beautiful master, dressed in mourning clothes, was also a delicious and tempting "midnight snack"...
"Oh."
Chibo Jinghua gave a soft hum, but looking at her disciple's expectant eyes, she softened again, just like always.
—Never mind, let it be.
Actually, she herself did miss the occasional displays of domineering and enthusiasm from her clumsy apprentice...
Let's go.
Ikeba Shizuka turned around gracefully, and Yuzuru immediately followed with a beaming smile.
Meanwhile, Heiji Hattori, who was engrossed in discussing the case with Conan, inadvertently noticed out of the corner of his eye that his mother was walking out of the funeral hall with that guy, Nanami Hanyu, and an ominous premonition immediately welled up in his heart.
Just as he was about to quietly follow them to see what his mother and Yuzuru were up to, a commotion suddenly broke out in the distance.
"Something terrible has happened! Miss Kuroe... Miss Kuroe, she..."
A villager ran over in a panic, his face ashen: "She's dead on the shore!"
"What?!"
Hattori Heiji's expression changed instantly.
Conan stood up: "Hattori! Go check it out!"
The two detectives exchanged a glance, understood each other perfectly, and without the slightest hesitation, they took off running towards the coast.
Solving the case is the priority!
Forget about mothers; in the face of the truth, none of that matters.
Hearing the commotion, Yuzuru Nan turned around and watched the two figures disappear into the distance. A slight smile played on his lips as he chuckled softly, "So dedicated~"
Chibo Jinghua shook her head, already knowing that her son was beyond redemption: "Let's go."
"Yes, Master!"
Yu Sheng Nan took her hand, and their fingers intertwined.
Before leaving, he glanced back at the shadows of the mourning hall—
Shimabukuro Kimie stood there quietly, her black uniform blending into the night. Only her eyes shone with a complex light in the darkness, a light that held sadness, resolve, and a hint of barely perceptible relief.
Yuzuru's lips curled slightly, and he silently mouthed the words:
"have fun."
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